What do you do when you don’t have the right exercise equipment to do a bodyrock workout (or any workout for that matter)? While most of Zuzana’s workouts are body weight exercises, she does mix it up a bit using a few basic pieces of equipment. Below are some suggested substitutes until you can get a hold of the real thing.
Interval Timer
A lot of Zuzana’s workouts are interval based which means you have to have an interval timer in order to do them properly. The interval timer she suggests is Gym Boss. I have one and love it but it also cost 20 bucks….that’s a lot of money. So before you shell out the dough you can use these two handy online interval timers I found:
http://www.beach-fitness.com/tabata/
http://www.speedbagforum.com/timer.html
Play around with them a bit, they seem pretty simple.
Dip Bar and Sandbag
The other two pieces of equipment she uses are a dip bar and a sandbag. I just ordered my dip bar (yay!), I’ve been saving up the money for a while now. But, until I get it I use an assortment of different household items to substitute for the dip bar depending on the exercise being preformed. For exercises like the seated pull-up and reverse push-up I find I can use a table to substitute for the dip bar. I just sit under the table, grasp the edges, your arms should be about shoulder width apart (otherwise, find a smaller table!) and then get into the desired exercise position and go! Works pretty well for me. These are just a couple ideas but you can get creative. Look around your house for items you might be able to use. Otherwise, just substitute a different exercise into the workout, I’ve done this on a number of occasions as well.
As for the sandbag, I made my own. It is still a work in progress but eventually I’ll have one with real sand in it. Right now I just have a duffle bag with a pillow and some free weights in it. Works pretty good. Otherwise I use free weights instead of the sandbag when I can. You can also find a lot of DIY sandbags online.
Those are just some ideas. Comment and share your own ideas, the more the better!
(Photo credit: Crystal Mcrenyolds from CrossFit Central Top 10 finisher at the 2009 CrossFit Games, photo from Facebook group)
The Little Beet 